Hinge for internal surface mounting, for doors of pieces of furniture or cabinet doors in general

ABSTRACT

A hinge for internal surface mounting, characterized in that comprises two pairs of levers crossing each other, and in particular that each lever of the first pair is pivoted together with the corresponding lever of the second pair, and moreover, the two converging ends of the levers which constitute the first pair are articulated each other, as also articulated each other, as also articulated each other are the two converging ends of the levers constituting the second pair, so as to constitute an articulated parallelogram, whereas the other two ends (diverging) of the first pair of levers are articulated the first on the fixed part of the cabinet and the other on the door, and the (diverging) ends of the second pair of levers are articulated each in a sliding way, the first with respect to the fixed part of the cabinet and the other with respect to the door.

United States Patent [151 3,673,635 Cencioni July 4, 1972 [541 HINGE FORINTERNAL SURFACE 2,073,689 3/1937 Gotzinger Wis/164 MOUNTING, FOR noo s0 PIECES 2,686,332 8/1954 Tull et al ..16/l63 OF FURNITURE OR CABINETDOORS IN GENERAL Inventor: Livio Cencioni, Km. 21.750, Via.Nettunense,Aprilia, ltaly Filed: July 22, 1970 Appl. No.: 57,169

Foreign Application Priority Data July 22, 1969 Italy ..38867 A/69 US.Cl ..l6/l63 Int. Cl ..E05d 3/06 Field of Search 16/163, 164

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 4/1954 Weiss ..l6/l64 PrimaryExaminer-Bobby R. Gay Assistant Examiner-Doris L. TroutmanAttorney-Waters, Roditi, Schwartz & Nissen [57] ABSTRACT A hinge forinternal surface mounting, characterized in that comprises two pairs oflevers crossing each other, and in particular that each lever of thefirst pair is pivoted together with the corresponding lever of thesecond pair, and moreover, the two converging ends of the levers whichconstitute the first pair are articulated each other, as alsoarticulated each other, as also articulated each other are the twoconverging ends of the levers constituting the second pair, so as toconstitute an articulated parallelogram, whereas the other two ends(diverging) of the first pair of levers are articulated the first on thefixed part of the cabinet and the other on the door, and the (diverging)ends of the second pair of levers are articulated each in a sliding way,the first with respect to the fixed part of the cabinet and the otherwith respect to the door.

3 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJUL 4 I972 SHEET 2 OF 2 HINGE FORINTERNAL SURFACE MOUNTING, FOR DOORS F PIECES OF FURNITURE OR CABINETDOORS IN GENERAL The industry of fumiture, and in particular that ofkitchen cabinet, among which the domestic appliances are included,requires hinges always more rugged, invisible, with automatic closing,and at the same time which allow an easy and cheap installation.Therefrom it derives the efi'orts of manufacturers of hinges to meet theever increasing requirements of the market.

The object of the present invention is to provide a new hinge, apt tointernal surface mounting, which eliminates completely the need ofarranging for housing or recesses in the walls destined to receive it,and, this notwithstanding remains invisible and guarantees a fullregister of the edge of door with the lateral wall of the cabinet, thusensuring a precise guided closing, a rugged supporting of the door alsowhen the same is particular heavy (doors of refrigerators), and also,when this is sought, a final snap action which ensures the maintainmentof the closure, without the use of latches or the like. The hingeaccording to the invention can be used not only in doors which rotatearounda vertical axis, but also to doors or wings which can be turnedover horizontally (secretary bookcases, liqueur furniture), whichperform a rotation to go from the closing position down to thehorizontal position to operate as a desk or support board.

According to the invention, a device is provided comprising two pairs ofcrossed levers, in which each lever of the first pair is pivoted on thesame pivoting point of the corresponding lever of the second pair, andmoreover the two converging ends of the two levers which constitute thefirst pair are articulated each other and the two converging ends of thetwo levers which constitute the second pair are also articulated eachother, forming thus an articulated parallelogram, in which the said lastarticulation, opposed each other, in the closed position, lie on thebisecting line of the angle between the fixed part the cabinet and thedoor, whereas the other two (diverging) ends of the first pair of leversare articulated on the fixed part of the cabinet and the door,respectively, and the other (diverging) ends of the second pair oflevers are articulated, each in a sliding way, on the fixed part of thecabinet and of the door, respectively.'

The attached drawings represent schematically as a non [imitativeexample some embodiments of the the hinge according to the invention,and more in particular:

FIG. 1 shows a lateral view of a hinge in the open condition;

FIG. 2 shows a lateral view of the same hinge in the closed condition;

FIG. 3 shows the hinge in perspective, and in an intermediate position;

FIGS. 4 and 5 show a secondembodiment of the hinge accordingto theinvention, particularly useful for cars or doors which can be turnedover horizontally.

With reference now to FIGS. 1 to 3, the hinge according to the inventioncomprises substantially two pairs of crossing levers, shown in 10-10 and11-11, respectively, in which the lever 10 of the first pair is pivotedin 12 with the lever 11 of the second pair, and the lever 10 of thefirst pair is pivoted in 12 with the lever 11' of the second pair;moreover, the two opposed or converging ends of the first pair 10-10 arepivoted together in 13, and the two opposed or converging ends of thesecond pair 11-11' are articulated together in 13' in order toconstitute and articulated quadrilateral having as apexes thearticulations 12-12, 13-13, and, finally, the two diverging ends of thefirst pair 10-10' are articulated the first one in 14 on the fixed part15 of the cabinet and the other one in 14' on the movable door 16,respectively; whereas the two diverging ends of the second pair oflevers 11-11' are articulated the first on the sliding pivot 17 and theother on the sliding pivot 17 of a base 18-18, respectively in orderthat they can be moved in a guided way within the channels or slots21-21 of said bases 18-18, the first with respect to the wall of thecabinet 15 and the other with respect to the door 16.

The bases 18 and 18 constitute a support for the levers and are mounted,respectively, by means of screws 19 and 20 without any need of effectingin the cabinet and in the door any housing, which entails alwaysexpenses of manpower or of machinery, and which causes a weakening ofthe wood walls where the hinges are mounted.

According to the invention the disclosed hinges are mounted on theinternal sides and on the surface.

In view of the fact that the mounting bases 18 and 18' are rather long,the stress is distributed and transferred far from the swinging center,constituted by the articulation 13', with appreciable advantages inrespect of the ruggedness of the hinge.

By a slight change of the general shape of the levers which constitutethe two pairs of 10-10', 11-11', different embodiments can be obtainedwhich are useful for different purposes, always remaining within thescope of the invention.

7 More in particular, it is possible to obtain an alignment of the twohinged surfaces or a backwards displacement of the one with respect tothe other, at will.

The hinge of FIGS. 4 and 5 is particularly useful for supporting theboard of a cabinet like a secretary bookcase which can be turned over,and which can be closed, as shown in FIG. 5 and is opened as shown inFIG. 4. i

In the case of the hinges of FIGS. 4 and 5, they can be mounted on eachside of the board which can be turned over, and the general shaping andmutual relationship of the four levers connected together is such toensure the horizontality of the workboard or writingboard at the samelevel of the board internal to the cabinet, and a good stiffness of thecantilevered part without any need of using braces or support compasses.

When used on pieces of furniture of the kind shown as secretarybookcases, the levers of each pair are arranged on two different planescreating a lateral offset in order that they rest each against theother, at the end of the path with their complementary resting surfaces,performing, when in the open condition (FIG. 4), as a rigid beam as ifit was solid.

Indeed, as it is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the levers l0 and 10 of thefirst pair show besides the articulation point 13 an extension 22-22with an arcuated convex outline which match an exactly concave outlineof the levers 11-11 constituting an uninterrupted surfaces locked in theopen position (FIG. 4).

In what remains, the hinge is identical to the one above described. Whengoing from the open position (FIG. 4) to the closed position (FIG. 5),the central pivot 13' follows a circular path 23 (FIG. 4), which makesit to approach the articulation 14 to bring it exactly on the bisectingline of the angle formed by the internal surfaces of the wall of thecabinet and of the door, a bisecting line on which lies always, in theclosed position, also the opposed articulation 13 (see FIG. 5).

In the hinge shown and disclosed according to several embodiments, it ispossible at the end of their closing path a spring-loaded latchingdevices, which substitutes the usual separated latch. Such spring loadeddevice may be realized in several forms, for instance with ballsprotruding from stop housings and being under the action of springs orother known means.

The hinge according to the invention shows the noteworthy advantage ofallowing, with a simple change of dimensions or shape of the leverswhich constitute the two pairs, to realize both in the closure and inthe opening, the precise alignment of the edge of the door, with theexternal wall of the cabinet, or the backshift of the door of theconverse, without changing the features of the invention.

It is also possible to build the several parts of the hinge withdifferent materials, by coupling,' for instance, the thin parts made outof metal with thick parts made out of plastics, obtaining in this way asmoothness of operation and freedom from noise without any need oflubrication.

What is claimed is:

1. A hinge for doors, particularly for cabinets and the like, consistingof two parts; each of said parts comprising a base element, one of saidbase elements being fastened to the door and the other to the cabinet; afirst lever having one end thereof slidably engaged in a slot in a firstone of said base elements; a second lever pivotally connected at one endthereof to said base element, and at an intermediate point thereof toanintermediate pointof said first lever, said first lever comprising apair of parallel spaced plates extending along the sides of said secondlever; a third lever having one end pivotally connected to the other endof said first lever and having its other end slidably engaged in a slotin the other of said base elements; a fourth lever pivotally connectedat one end thereof to said last-mentioned base element, at anintermediate point thereof to an intermediate point of vsaid thirdlever, and at its other end to the free end of said second lever, saidfourth lever comprising a pair of parallel spaced plates extending alongthe sides of said third lever.

2. A hinge as claimed in claim 1, wherein, in the open position of saidhinge, the pivotally connected ends of said first and third levers abutagainst the pivotally connected ends of said second and fourth levers.

3. A hinge as claimed in claim 2, said second and fourth levers eachhaving at their pivotally connected ends extending portions, saidextending portions being adapted to form in the hinge open position asecond abutment with said first and third levers so as to form anessentially rigid beam structure.

l l I I! t

1. A hinge for doors, particularly for cabinets and the like, consistingof two parts; each of said parts comprising a base element, one of saidbase elements being fastened to the door and the other to the cabinet; afirst lever having one end thereof slidably engaged in a slot in a firstone of said base elements; a second lever pivotally connected at one endthereof to said base element, and at an intermediate point thereof to anintermediate point of said first lever, said first lever comprising apair of parallel spaced plates extending along the sides of said secondlever; a third lever having one end pivotally connected to the other endof said first lever and having its other end slidably engaged in a slotin the other of said base elements; a fourth lever pivotally connectedat one end thereof to said last-mentioned base element, at anintermediate point thereof to an intermediate point of said third lever,and at its other end to the free end of said second lever, said fourthlever comprising a pair of parallel spaced plates extending along thesides of said third lever.
 2. A hinge as claimed in claim 1, wherein, inthe open position of said hinge, the pivotally connected ends of saidfirst and third levers abut against the pivotally connected ends of saidsecond and fourth levers.
 3. A hinge as claimed in claim 2, said secondand fourth levers each having at their pivotally connected endsextending portions, said extending portions being adapted to form in thehinge open position a second abutment with said first and third leversso as to form an essentially rigid beam structure.